The Face the Fight movement is a coalition with over 250 members, all coming together to fight one battle: Veteran Suicide. Veterans have a 57% higher suicide rate than the national average, with more than 6,000 veterans committing suicide annually. The movement's main goal is to reduce the veteran suicide rate by half by 2030. To accomplish this goal, they have raised issues that need solving, such as providing lethal means safety courses, minimizing veterans' financial stress, and coming up with solutions to provide timely mental health services to all veterans.

Doing research of my own for this cause, I have found that one of the key issues that causes many veterans to commit suicide is the shock of transitioning back to civilian life. Every year, approximately 200,000 U.S. service members transition from military to civilian life. The Department of Defense (DoD) implemented a mandatory Transitional Assistance Program (TAP) for all separating service members to complete BEFORE transitioning to civilian life. This program focuses on financial planning, employment, and educational opportunities, but falls short on other necessary aspects of life. Despite this program being in place, “Many veterans report feeling a sense of loss of identity, community, and purpose. Difficulty accessing medical care and benefits are common challenges, along with the strain on relationships caused by the stress of transition” (Valor4Vet, 2021). The current transitional program simply does not spend enough time to fully prepare veterans for the culture shock of reintegrating into civilian life. As Bethanie Spangenberg from Valor 4 Vets notes, “They spent six years training my husband, a Marine Corps Infantryman, the strategies of war and how to kill, but only two weeks to undo that training” (Valor4Vet, 2021). 

Many veterans feel like they could be better prepared for the transition if additional training and assistance were required. Some veterans refer to this additional training as a sort of “Reverse Boot Camp,” essentially training them to be civilians again. 

I am asking lawmakers, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to create a mandatory two-step Transitional Assistance Program. The first step is the program that is already implemented, and the second step is a program that occurs right after a veteran transitions. Step two will dive deeper into other necessary concepts for a veteran's transition, such as addressing mental health concerns, lethal means safety, support groups, financial and relationship stress, and where/how to access health services and other veteran benefits. 

Sign this petition to call on lawmakers to make this crucial change a reality for those who have sacrificed so much for our country. 

Together we can Face the Fight against veteran suicide. 

Reference:

Trained to transition: Is the military doing enough to prepare troops for civilian life? (2021). https://valor4vet.com/trained-to-transition-is-the-military-doing-enough-to-prepare-troops-for-civilian-life/